ANIMAL CLONING

Animal Cloning

Animal Cloning

Animal Cell Nucleus

Function of Nucleus

Nucleus Controls Hereditary Traits

One of the functions of the nucleus of an animal cell is to control the hereditary traits. Inheritable traits are traits that get passed down from generation to the next generation. For animals it may include things like the stripes on a tiger, a skunk's ability to spray, or the flavor of fruit from different apple trees.

It Controls Cellular Metabolism

Another fu8nction of the nucleus is to control the cellular metabolism. Metabolism is the set of biochemical reactions and physical-chemical processes that occur in a cell and the organism. These complex interrelated processes are the basis of life at the molecular level, allowing the various activities of the cells: growth, reproduce, maintain their structures, responding to stimuli, etc.

Nucleus Controls Synthesis of RNA and Protein

The nucleus controls protein synthesis in the cytoplasm sending molecular messengers. Messenger RNA (mRNA) is synthesized according to the instructions contained in DNA and leaves the nucleus through pores. Once in the cytoplasm, the mRNA attaches to ribosomes and encodes the primary structure of a specific protein.

Nucleus Controls Cellular Differentiation

Nucleus also controls cellular differentiation. Cell differentiation is the process whereby the cells undergo cytological changes leading to a specific shape and function during embryonic development or the life of a multi-cellular organism, specializing in one cell type.

Cloning

Cloning is an umbrella term for processes of duplicating genetic material, whether animal or human. Scientists refer to a clone as a group of two or more cells or organisms with identical genetic information that have been derived from a single cell or organism. Clones result naturally from asexual reproduction in bacteria, plants, and animals, and they are also produced deliberately by a variety of technical strategies (Lozano and Juan, pp. 125-136).

In media reports and public debates on cloning, the concept usually refers to artificial rather than natural clones, and the term is used mainly to refer to the individual that has been derived by a cloning procedure (rather than the parent). The stereotypical popular clone is a same-age, look-alike copy of a single parent (Klotzko, pp. 219-246).

Debates on cloning provide an opportunity to observe the social aspects of a novel technical option. Research into how cloning is constituted in these debates has demonstrated that in the years following the announcement of the first cloned mammal, the famous sheep Dolly, the prospect of human cloning has shifted from science fiction to scientific practice; at the same time, it has become particularly controversial. Media scholars and social scientists are concerned with the discursive frames and strategies that shape the debates and with how the discussion of a particular technique is linked to more general expectations about the role of science in a democratic society. This entry discusses the techno-scientific developments and the media and public debate on both animal and human cloning (McLaren, pp. 58-71).

Cloning Animals

The development of micromanipulation techniques led to the birth of Molly and Megan, two lambs cloned from the nuclei of embryonic stem cells, in 1996 at the ...